When Slayer played the final show of their farewell tour in 2019, it truly seemed that the thrash legends were done. However, five years later, the “Raining Blood” metallers will reunite for a trio of festival shows in the fall.
When asked what he’s excited about in playing the upcoming Slayer performances, guitarist Kerry King responds, “I’m excited for the fire.”
“Slayer burns everything,” King says. “I enjoy it a lot.”
King characterizes the shows, which include sets at the Riot Fest, Louder than Life and Aftershock festivals, as a fifth anniversary celebration of Slayer’s 2019 farewell.
“I think that’s a nice little gap of time,” King says.
“That was our final tour,” he adds of the 2019 campaign. “Is that bad that we’re playing three shows? I don’t think so. I think they’re one-off anniversary shows.”
As for whether there will be more one-off anniversary shows in the future, only time will tell.
“I don’t know,” King says. “We’re never gonna tour again, we’re never gonna record again. So, take that for what you want.”
In the meantime, King has been touring in support of his debut solo album, From Hell I Rise, which dropped in May. During his recent European solo tour, King put a number of Slayer songs in the set, including “Raining Blood.”
“It’s really cool to have a history of so many songs that so many people are super into,” King says. “When [‘Raining Blood’] pops in very late in the set, people just get electrified.”
King’s solo show will come to the U.S. as part of Mastodon and Lamb of God‘s Ashes of Leviathan tour, which launches July 19.
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